More Tools

Yesterday I picked up the Dremel Stylus to aid in my Monstrous Creature magnetization project. The tool cost $69.99 at Home Depot and comes with its own accessory kit. After trying it out on a Carnifex I had already glued together, I am very impressed with how powerful and capable this little tool is. Within minutes I had bored out 6 holes in my Carnifex's torso and was able to also open the model back up in preparation of green stuff and magnets. I got the idea from Miniwargaming.com's YouTube video (found here) and I am definitely a fan.

Along with the Dremel, I purchased some rare earth magnets from K & J Magnetics that are the size the video suggested. Today I will be magnetizing almost all of my Carnifexes as this is a project I've been wanting to do since I started Tyranids back in early 2009. Also, today I should be getting in some Balrog wings that I ordered from Games Workshop so those will also get magnetized for my Hive Tyrants (which also will be magnetized as all of the Monstrous Creatures can have several different weapon variants).

So, long story not short enough, if you are on the fence about whether to purchase a tool like this I must say it is totally worth it. It has already let me accomplish in minutes what would have taken all night otherwise.

Tyranids @ 2,000 points

So lately I've been proxying Tyranid lists at the 2,000 point level. I've always loved higher-points games though the smaller more tactical games have their place as well. One of the things I like about playing with more points is that you can take the bigger, nastier units and wargear options that you might have stayed away from in smaller games. For the new Tyranids, examples would be multiple Trygons, Tervigons, or even Carnifexes, as well as options like Mycetic Spores, Regenerate, or even multiple Hive Tyrant abilities.

Here's a 2,000 point list that I'll be trying this Friday:

HQ
Hive Tyrant - (Bone Sword & Lash Whip, Paroxysm, Leech Essence), Hive Com, Old Adv, TL Devs, Acid Blood (250)
1x Tyrant Guard (60)
Tervigon - Catalyst, Crushing Claws, Toxin Sacs (210)

Elites
2x Zoanthropes (120)
Doom of Malan'Tai - Mycetic Spore (130)

Troops
11x Genestealers (154)
11x Genestealers (154)
11x Genestealers (154)
15x Termagaunts (75)
Tervigon - Catalyst, Crushing Claws, Toxin Sacs (210)

Heavy
Trygon Prime (240)
Trygon Prime (240)

So the point of this is to have some of the most powerful units doing what they were designed to do. The Doom will come in on a 3+ on turn 2 and a 2+ on turn 3 (thanks to the Hive Tyrant's Hive Commander upgrade). The Trygons will perform their Subterrainian Assault with that same +1 to reserve rolls, firing their 12 shots each and providing Synapse within 12". The Zoans can take care of all armor and the Tervigons can spawn enough Troops choices to secure a victory. The Hive Tyrant has 6 Twin-Linked S6 shots at 12", Paroxysm to aid in a CC mop-up, and has the Acid Blood and Lash Whip combo. There is a lot of potential in this list and I know it will devour Marines quickly but the challenge will be against Guard and Sisters. My tactics there would be to pop as many tanks as possible, then have the Doom do it's thing, and maybe switch the powers on the Hive Tyrant from Paroxysm to Psychic Scream. Also, 12 S6 shots from the Trygons are pretty sweet on rear armor...

The right tools for the job...

Just a couple of days ago I picked up a new headset/mic combo for gaming and YouTube-ing purposes. I bought the Triton AX 180 headset and I have to say I'm quite pleased. I've owned a few super-cheap headsets and mics before but nothing compares to the quality that I've gotten out of this so far. It's nice to watch movies or shows and play video games on my computer late at night without waking the wife. This headset is also compatible with the PS3, X-Box 360, and the Wii, so I'm able to play console games in relative silence as well.

Anyways, I'm going to be using this headset to do my Sons of Sanguinius YouTube videos in March so the audio quality should be great. Be on the lookout for more videos by me at www.youtube.com/sonsofsanguinius.

First Game with new Tyranids

So last night I played my first game using the new Tyranid codex (and of course proxying a few models that I have yet to purchase). I played against my wife's Necrons, and I used this 2,000 point list:

HQ
Swarm-Lord (280 points)
Parasite of Mortrex (160 points)

Elites
3x Hive Guard (150 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)

Troops
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termaguants, (80 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)

Heavy
Trygon (200 points)
Trygon (200 points)
Mawloc (170 points)


So, we rolled an Annihilation/Pitched Battle game and I won the roll to go first. I set up mostly centered in my deployment zone but fairly spread out. Having 8 creatures with Synapse in the army REALLY helped my deployment considering every creature without synapse must test for Instinctive Behavior. In response, Amy set up all three of her 10-man Warrior units in a 4-level ruin, with both of her 8-man Immortal units and a Lord with a Res Orb in it as well. She then put the Monolith dead-center in her deployment zone, and put her 5 Destroyers with the Destroyer Lord off to her right, hoping to flank my swarm and pick off the Termagaunt units without shooting through cover.


After several pauses throughout the first two turns to look up abilities and weapon stats, the game started to flow quite smoothly. She proceeded to pick up at least half of my entire Termagaunt force in the first two turns, but when my Trygons and Mawloc came in, things DEFINITELY changed in my favor. It was at that point that the Tyranids regained momentum and started annihilating whole units at a time. The game went slightly back and forth for a bit with a lot of highly effective Necron shooting and disgusting Tyranid assaults, but in the end the bugs claimed the tomb world and PHASED OUT the Necrons before rolling to see if there was a 6th turn! If there would have been, however, both sides had approximately 8 kill points each!


In one of the better games I have played with Tyranids in a while, I have to thank my wife for being such a good sport. She made the game quite enjoyable and I'm glad I got to use the nasty new Monstrous Creatures to such great effect.


However, I didn't walk away from that game completely satisfied. I have thought about some of the units and how they performed and I think I'm going to make a few small changes before I playtest the army some more tonight with the War College where I know I'll face some slightly more stiff competition.


Here's my "Big Bug List" v2.0


HQ
Swarmlord (280 points)

Elites
3x Hive Guard (150 points)
2x Zoanthropes (120 points)
2x Zoanthropes (120 points)


Troops
16 Termagaunts (80 points)
16 Termagaunts (80 points)
15 Termagaunts (75 points)
Tervigon, Catalyst (175 points)
Tervigon, Catalyst (175 points)
Tervigon, Catalyst (175 poitns)


Heavy Support
Trygon (200 points)
Trygon (200 points)
Mawloc (170 points)


I'll comment on this post when I get back tonight, letting you all know how things went. Stay tuned!

5th Edition Tyranids - First Thoughts

I've been playing 40k long enough to know how powerful Tyranids are and I've seen their changes throughout the years. Sometimes GW nails the codex, and other times they create a different army altogether. This time, however, I think they put out one of the Tyranids' best codexes so far. With the introduction of four new species and a host of kit-bashed monsters as actual entries in the codex, the 5th Edition bugs could prove to be a very competitive and fun army to play.

Going through the codex, I've come up with my very first 5th-ed Tyranid army list!

HQ
Swarm-Lord (280 points)
Parasite of Mortrex (160 points)

Elites
3x Hive Guard (150 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)

Troops
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termaguants, (80 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)

Heavy
Trygon, Adrenal Glands (210 points)
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)

Total: 2,000 points
Models: 62
Monstrous Creatures: 7

Now, I think this list may throw off the opponent. There's 62 models here but most of them are Termaguants. I'll likely lose a third of them in the first turn, and maybe a medium-sized creature or two, but on my turn some really cool things happen. Both Tervigons can spawn scoring Termagaunts! Later, the Parasite of Mortrex can turn outflankers and some other models into d6 ripper bases, and thanks to the Swarm-Lord, the Trygon and Mawloc get +1 to their reserve rolls! Basically, I loaded up on the big nasties, hoping that they can spawn enough chumps to help bog down the opponent until the MC's can get where they need to be. The list appears to be a "Nidzilla" of sorts but should produce enough numbers to quickly overwhelm the opponent by mid-game when I've taken a bit of casualties anyways.

And here's a disgusting Vanguard list:

HQ
The Parasite of Mortrex (160 points)
Hive Tyrant, Wings, Old Adversary (255 points)

Elites
2x Lictors (130 points)

Troops
20x Hormagaunts, Landing Spore (160 points)
20x Hormagaunts, Landing Spore (160 points)
20x Hormagaunts, Landing Spore (160 points)

Fast Attack
21x Gargoyles, Adrenal Glands (147 points)
21x Gargoyles, Adrenal Glands (147 points)
Harpy, Twin-Linked Heavy Venom Cannon (170 points)

Heavy Support
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)

Total: 1,849 points
Models: 112
Monstrous Creatures: 8

Now, with this list, the point is to be in your opponent's face so quickly that they only really have one turn to shoot you down (two tops) before you're in hand to hand with everything. As things start to get worn down, two Mawlocs will come to the rescue (with a +2 to the reserves roll thanks to the two Lictors, so turn 2 is a 2+, turn 3 is automatic), using two S6 AP2 large blasts to tear open holes in your opponent's defenses.

Now, I have no idea how these lists will actually perform but I'm definitely looking forward to the new book, due out Friday of next week!

Incoming! Blood Angels

Quoted directly from my Games Workshop newsletter:

This April the Blood Angels will be re-launched with an all-new Codex and range of plastic and metal miniatures. One of the oldest and noblest of all Space Marine Chapters, the Blood Angels have stood fast against the enemies of the Imperium since the Great Crusade and it was their Primarch Sanguinius, who laid down his life to aid the Emperor against Horus in the final hours of the Warmaster’s rebellion. The new Codex explores the background and history of these superhuman warriors like never before, and contains new artwork depicting some of their greatest battles and most powerful champions.

The Blood Angels have always been a powerful close combat army and have been made even deadlier thanks to a range of specialist wargear, the ability to field Assault Squads as Troops choices, and more Dreadnoughts than any other Space Marine Chapter, including a Death Company Dreadnought and the fabled Furioso Dreadnought. The Sons of Sanguinius will be deep striking onto a tabletop near you this April – now’s the time to practice painting red.